He said: "We are deeply upset to hear about the sad death of Harry Woolhouse in an accident in Malaysia today. Harry worked in our oil and gas division in Singapore and was a long standing member of the Atkins family.

"He joined us as a graduate chemical engineer and had worked for us in the UK and more recently in Singapore.

"He was a highly popular colleague who was an extremely capable young engineer who had a very promising career ahead of him. He will be very much missed by us all.

"We offer our heart-felt condolences to his family and friends at this very sad time."

Mr Woolhouse's father Christopher, 67, told the Telegraph his son was due to fly to see his family and his girlfriend.

He said his daughter called him after she had seen a message on Facebook which said her brother had been killed.